Barren Realms Elite

Please read the original Barren Realms Elite documentation before moving forward.

Here is how to install it:

The example shown below uses these settings:

Operating System: OS/2 or ArcaOS
Fossil / Virtual Modem: SIO & VMODEM
File structure: C:\PB\DOORS\BRE

1. Make a subdirectory anywhere on your hard disk to contain the Barren Realms Elite game (C:\PB\DOORS\BRE for example). Place the main Barren Realms Elite self-extracting archive into this directory and run it.

2. Type UNPACK to run the unpack batch file which unarchives all of the Barren Realms Elite game files and places them in the proper subdirectories.

3. Run INSTALL.EXE from your main Barren Realms Elite directory (C:\PB\DOORS\BRE for example). This program will assist in setting up the doorfile information, door configuration and creating a runtime batch file.

The doorfile information allows BRE to interpret the doorfile created by the BBS every time it runs a door. In this example we use QBBS (DORINFO1.DEF)

Options to select:

First Screen:
Option #8 QBBS (DORINFO1.DEF)
Second Screen:
The BRE directory is: C:\PB\DOORS\BRE
Which directory is your BBS in?: c:\pb\
Enter the full path to your BBS's door files: c:\pb\node1\
Batch file to create: c:\pb\doors\
Do you want to use FOSSIL? (Y/N): Y
If you have locked baud rates, please enter the baud rate: (Whatever your locked rate it)
Third Screen:
Follow the Score File paths to your score locations. Same with the News File paths..

Now install the door into your BBS by having it run the batch file that you had created with the help of INSTALL.EXE.

Example batch file:

@Echo off
C:
cd \pb\doors\bre
SRDOOR -f setup.%1
BRE
IF EXIST INUSE.FLG DEL INUSE.FLG
EXIT

4. Have your BBS execute the BRE.BAT. If you run just one node (A single line BBS), you need to have your BBS call BRE.BAT 1. The 1 is the node number.

If you have a multi-node BBS, use a node parameter (in ProBoard, it's *#) so your BBS will substitute the appropriate node number.

In ProCFG, configure your door to run a Command Line such as this example, which will run START.BAT and pass the system path and node number. Say for example, that your BBS software is ProBoard and your BBS directory structure is:

C:\PB (main BBS directory)
C:\PB\NODE1 (Node 1 dropfile directory)
C:\PB\NODE2 (Node 2 dropfile directory)

ProBoard BBS uses the following Door Command Line macros:

*# is replaced by the Node number

*Z Execute the command as if you typed it from the command line. The main use for this option is to execute DOS batch files. It is exactly the same as entering “*C /C <command>”. It can also be useful to execute programs that are located in your path, without having to specify the exact directory name.

*S ProBoard's system directory (incl. trailing '\')

So the following type-7 Command Line could be configured for this door in ProCfg:

*z*sdoors\bre\bre.bat *#

Note that for node 1, the above command line would be translated by the BBS as so:

c:\pb\doors\bre\bre.bat 1

6. Reset the game by running the command line:

BRE RESET

You *MUST* do this prior to running the software or it will not function at all.

7. Test out the software to make sure everything is working properly, and you're all set!

Installation of the Barren Realms Elite software is now complete.

Multi-Node support:

At this time, Barren Realms Elite cannot run on more than one node at a time, but it will detect if it is currently being ran on a node automatically, so that you do not have to use external utilities or semaphore files to do manage this fact.

To set up Barren Realms Elite for a multinode board, first install BRE normally, for just node 1. Then, look in your BRE directory for a file called SETUP.SR. This file contains the path to the door file. You can make copies of this file for each node (SETUP.1, SETUP.2, SETUP.3, etc.).

In the batch file that your BBS calls to run Barren Realms Elite (BRE.BAT), next find a line that runs the SRDOOR.EXE program. It should look something like this:

SRDOOR

If your BBS supplies an environment variable “NODE” that contains the node number currently running, change this line to:

SRDOOR -f SETUP.%NODE%

If not, and you are able to pass the node number from your BBS to the Barren Realms Elite batch file, change the line to:

SRDOOR -f SETUP.%1

The %1 in the above example will get replaced by the proper node number. Be sure to tell your BBS to pass the node number to your batch file.

In addition, your nodes may not have the same locked baud rate. If this is the case, one solution is to make a RESOURCE.1, RESOURCE.2, and so on. Then, in each one, you can set a different locked baud rate.

Again, in the batch file, before BRE runs, add the line:

COPY RESOURCE.%NODE% RESOURCE.DAT

or

COPY RESOURCE.%1 RESOURCE.DAT

In addition to these setups, Barren Realms Elite will create a temporary file named INUSE.FLG to indicate that a game is in use by another node. Other nodes will not be able to play in the same game while another player is in it. Because of this, and because computers can and often crash, some sysops add an extra line to their Barren Realms Elite batch file to ensure that the INUSE.FLG file is deleted after each player exits the game. To do so, simply add the following to your BRE batch file:

DEL INUSE.FLG

For more information on SRDOOR.EXE and the SETUP.SR file, see the section on SRDOOR. For more information on the RESOURCE.DAT file, see the section regarding the RESOURCE.DAT.

Thank you to Sean Dennis for his OS/2 & ArcaOS help and John Dailey for Barren Realms Elite documentation examples!!